Meet Aanya Soni - The Youngest Indian Chosen For An Expedition To Antarctica

‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’, wrote William Shakespeare, and when it comes to our generation, truer words haven’t been spoken. If there’s one thing that we have going for us while compared to the generation of our parents or our grandparents, is our youth and our ability to make a difference in this world with the resources we have at hand!

Meet Aanya - the 13-year-old champion for climate change who is out to prove it to everyone that she is committed to the cause of saving our planet, and she’s the youngest Indian ever who’s going to Antarctica to do it!

The 2041 Foundation

An organisation that is working to protect Antarctica, 2041 aims to bring together individuals who believe a world with a future that comprises of sustainable and clean energy.

It was founded by Robert Swan, the first person to ever walk to both the North and the South poles, who has dedicated his life to preserving the continent of Antarctica by promoting renewable energy, recycling, and sustainability to fight the effects of climate change.

According to a report by Better India, "Antarctica is a protected, pristine and untouched zone. A 50-year treaty that was signed to prohibit any research, drilling or exploitation of Antarctica ends in 2041. Sir Robert Swan started the foundation to protect Antarctica and spread awareness about climate change. Every year for the past 14 years, Sir Robert Swan's 2041 foundation has been selecting 80 people from across the world for this expedition, to build leaders who will embrace a sustainable life and impact change in their families, communities and on a corporate level."

Subscribe to POPxoTV

Who is Aanya Soni?

Born in Ahmedabad, Aanya Soni is the youngest Indian to be chosen for an expedition to Antarctica in 2018 by the 2041 Foundation. She currently studies in the eighth grade at Sahyadri School in Pune, and her journey began when she watched ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, the renowned documentary by Al Gore, and was inspired to think about climate change.

Source: Facebook

Aanya had the opportunity to meet Tanisha Arora, who was a part of Robert Swan’s 2017 expedition to Antarctica, who convinced Aanya to apply for the journey in 2018. She was accepted, but since she is still a minor, her mother Pratibha Soni will be joining her, as her guardian, for the expedition.

So far, Aanya has already raised Rs 9,89,127 from 135 funders on a Bengaluru-based crowdfunding platform called Fueladream, and hopes to make a difference in the world with her active participation for the cause and her dream. Such an inspiring role model, and that too at the young age of 13!